Thursday, January 2, 2014

Change Possible With Anyone Who is Pregnant With Promise--Participation of MM Students in Liturgies

Happy New Year!

Yesterday morning, January 1, 2014, I particularly found relevant meaning in Rolheiser's meditation for this day. On January 1st, in our church, we celebrate the Motherhood of God. We give Mary center stage in our liturgy.

Below is part of Rolheiser's meditation:

"Never underrate, in terms of world importance, anyone who is pregnant with promise, Never underestimate the impact in history of silent, hidden gestation... what changes the world is what we give birth to in obscurity and dust, within the frustration of lives that will always seem too small for us. If we allow ourselves to become pregnant with hope and carry that hope through a long, humble gestation process, we will impact the world."

This meditation was so appropriate for me because of all the students, especially the seven day boarders and international students, who have enhanced our liturgies by their musical talents and participation. I had none of them to help me with liturgy for this feast. They are all on vacation.

The photos below tell part of the story that these young men play.

Could it possibly be that it time some of these present students will love singing, reading, distributing Holy Communion, and participating in the liturgy so much that they might think of doing it the rest of their lives as priests or monks? We can only hope and be pregnant with promise that one day this may happen.

Ever since I wrote an article entitled, Fearing Failure, I have had lots of people tell me that it was very helpful for them or that they could identify with it. As a result of that feedback, all of this has caused me to do much thinking. I am reminded of a phrase that I recall from Henri Nouwen – “the more personal – the more universal.”
I am presenting a series of articles related to vocational discernment, personal stories from members of the Mount Michael Community, and generally vocation-related topics.
I hope some of this material is helpful and if nothing else interesting.